Georgia Looks to Rebound Against the Aggies

January 18, 2019 | Women's Basketball

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Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (12-6, 3-2 SEC) vs. Texas A&M (13-4, 2-2 SEC)
Sunday, Jan. 20 | 4 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) | Athens, Ga.
Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network - 960 AM in Athens (Jeff Dantzler)
TV: ESPN2 (Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod)
SEC Network +

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Probable Starters

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Joni Taylor
75-38 (4th year) at UGA
75-38 (4th year) overall
G	0	Taja Cole	10.8	5.2
5-8; RS-Jr.; Richmond, Va./Louisville
G	2	Gabby Connally	12.9	2.3
5-6; So.; San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis HS
G	1	Donnetta Johnson	3.0	2.1
5-11; Fr.; Queens, N.Y./Baldwin HS
F	3	Stephanie Paul	6.9	5.3
6-1; Jr.; Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples
F	4	Caliya Robinson	13.7	7.9
6-3; Sr.; Marietta, Ga./McEachern HS

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA LADY BULLDOGS		TEXAS A&M AGGIES
66.6	Scoring	69.5
42.9%	FG%	43.0%
29.8%	3FG%	33.0%
40.8	Rebounds	42.2
15.8	Assists	12.8
6.7	Blocks	3.5
7.9	Steals	6.9
55.9	Scoring Def.	55.4
35.3%	FG% Def.	35.2%
29.1%	3FG% Def.	24.1%
+6.3	Reb. Margin	+8.9
+0.2	T/O Margin	+0.7
1.0	Ast-T/O Ratio	0.9

Game Promotions

First 300 children 8th grade and under receive a free 'Incredibles' dog t-shirt and mask — coupons passed out at the door
First 200 University of Georgia students will receive free Raising Canes chicken fingers
Postgame photos with the team
Halftime Entertainment - Red Panda

Opening Tip

Georgia hosts the Texas A&M Aggies this Sunday at 4 p.m. ET inside Stegeman Coliseum. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 with Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod on the call.
The Lady Bulldogs enter Sunday's game after an up and down week. Georgia knocked off then-No. 13 Tennessee, 66-62, in front of nearly 6,000 fans at Stegeman Coliseum last Sunday. Then, the Lady Bulldogs were held to a season-low point total in a 61-35 loss at Missouri on Thursday.
Georgia is a perfect 10-0 at home this season and is looking to start a season 11-0 at home for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.
The Lady Bulldogs have won the last two meetings against Texas A&M. Then-freshman and San Antonio native Gabby Connally returned home to score 37 points in the 92-84 overtime win last year in College Station. Connally's 37 points were the most for a Georgia freshman against an SEC opponent in school history.
Sunday's game between Georgia and Texas A&M will feature two of the top defensive teams in the SEC. The Aggies lead the league in field-goal percentage defense, holding teams to just 35.2 percent from the floor, while Georgia is second at 35.3 percent. Texas A&M has held back-to-back SEC teams to 43 points each (Vanderbilt and Alabama).

Series History

Overall: Texas A&M leads, 5-3
In Athens: Tied, 2-2
In College Station: Texas A&M leads, 2-1
Neutral Sites: Texas A&M leads, 1-0

Georgia vs. Texas A&M Series Breakdown

Georgia has won the last two meetings against Texas A&M and has not lost to the Aggies in Athens since a 58-44 defeat on Jan. 12, 2014. In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, Texas A&M defeated Georgia, 79-38, in the NCAA Sweet 16 on its way to the 2011 NCAA National Championship.

Georgia Leads Nation in Total Blocks

The Lady Bulldogs enter Sunday's game as the No. 1 shot-blocking team in the country. Georgia's post players have combined to swat a nation-leading 120 total shots this year, just ahead of Mississippi State's 118 (second nationally) and South Carolina's 115 blocks (third nationally).

Robinson, Staiti Create Impressive Post Combination

Georgia senior Caliya Robinson and redshirt-sophomore Jenna Staiti form one of the top frontcourt tandems in the SEC. Robinson is the SEC's active career blocked shots leader with 259 and is second in the SEC with 41 total blocks this year, while Staiti ranks third with 39.

Cole Becoming Elite Point Guard

Georgia redshirt junior guard Taja Cole, who is on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for the nation's top point guard, leads the Southeastern Conference and is eighth nationally in assists with 6.4 per game.

Donnetta Johnson Named SEC Freshman of the Week

Georgia freshman guard Donnetta Johnson was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for her performances against Mississippi State and Tennessee last week. She scored five points in each game -- all coming at crucial moments.

Against Mississippi State, she scored five-straight in the third quarter to cut a seven-point deficit down to two, while her five points against Tennessee came off a 3-pointer and a layup that jump started a 13-4 Georgia run and allowed her team to climb back in the game.

SEC's Youngest Team Starting to Jell

With eight underclassmen and just four upperclassmen, the Lady Bulldogs are the youngest team in the Southeastern Conference. All eight of Georgia's freshmen and sophomores have seen valuable playing time as each has averaged over 10 minutes played per game. Sophomore Malury Bates, who was averaging 16.1 minutes played per contest, is out for the year with a torn ACL.

First Starts for Numerous Lady Bulldogs

Georgia has used six players that had never started a game prior to this season in this year's starting lineup. Among those is sophomore guard Gabby Connally, who has started each of Georgia's 18 games. The Lady Bulldogs' three freshmen have each started at least one game this year, with Donnetta Johnson receiving the nod in six of the last seven contests.

Strong Road Performance at Mississippi State

The Lady Bulldogs led No. 6 Mississippi State with just six minutes to go in Starkville, before falling, 80-71. It is only the second time this season that MSU has trailed in the fourth quarter. Georgia also tied MSU in paint points at 42-42. It was only the second time this season that Mississippi State did not lead in the points in the paint category.

Lady Bulldogs Add Top Prospects in 2019 Signing Class

The initial signing period was a good one for the Lady Bulldogs as Georgia signed three players who are among some of the best in the nation. Currently, the Lady Bulldogs' 2019 class ranks 14th overall by ESPNW.

Mitchellville, Maryland native and five-star guard Chloe Chapman was the first to ink with Georgia. Chapman, a five-star prospect, is the No. 28 overall recruit and No. 7 point guard according to ESPNW. Later in the week, Georgia announced the signing of five-star forward Javyn Nicholson from Lawrenceville, Georgia. Nicholson is ranked No. 6 among the country's top power forwards. Another Georgia native, Jordan Isaacs from Alpharetta, rounds out Georgia's class. She is a five-star player according to Prospects Nation and No. 14 overall forward according to ESPNW.

Last week, Georgia inked Virginia Tech transfer Shaniya Jones, who was a four-star guard in the 2018 class. She is on campus and will be an eligible sophomore at the conclusion of the 2019 fall term.

Exceeding Expectations Under Taylor

Georgia continued its upward trend under head coach Joni Taylor last season. The Lady Bulldogs finished tied with South Carolina for second place in the final SEC standings after being picked eighth in the preseason poll. It's a trend that goes all the way back to Taylor's first year, when her squad was picked ninth and finished sixth. Then, in 2016-17, Georgia was picked 12th and finished eighth.

All 14 SEC Universities Achieve Elite Carnegie Research Status

For the first time in the history of the Southeastern Conference, all 14 member universities have been designated as doctoral universities with the highest level of research activity by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, the SEC announced earlier this week.

This top designation, historically known as Research 1 or R1, recognizes the nation's most elite research universities. According to Carnegie Commission data, fewer than three percent of all U.S. educational institutions are included in the classification, and the SEC is one of only four NCAA conferences with all its members in the top category.

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